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Survivor Story: Todd Savant

I am Todd’s brother (Jim), and I will try to get this story right for you, with what I know. I hope I do this justice, as I was volunteered to write it.

Todd grew up on the mean streets of Benld’s East side. The neighborhood was very much like the movie “The Sandlot.” He is a Cub and Cowboy fan. I guest nobody’s perfect! He is married to Bobbi Savant and has 3 sons Jake 16, Alex 5 and Dominic 2. He was an excellent basketball player, and catcher growing up.

Todd also played running back and strong side corner for the Miners. You didn’t run the ball to that side if you knew what was good for you. He works as a self-employed contractor and is very good at what he does.

First of all, I have been a huge fan of Fight The Fight since day one. I think the world of Pete Sr. for going the extra mile and making my grandparents feel welcome. They ask about him every time I talk to them. He really touched their hearts. I learned a lot from this wonderful organization and am inspired by all these stories of bravery.

My brother (Todd) is a quiet, private person. Before Thanksgiving he was having headaches and was sleeping a lot. My brother’s motor never stops; he doesn’t just lie around and sleep. He went to the doctor and was told he had bronchitis. He was given medication and sent home.

The week after Thanksgiving I got a call from Bobbi that he was gone. He had blacked out at home and was suppose to be waiting for his son to drive him to the emergency room. I guess he couldn’t wait. My wife picked up Todd’s boys and Bobbi left for the hospital. Luckily he was in Litchfield where he didn’t know how to write his name or even know he had children, but he made it there safely.

Bobbi called later to say that Todd had a tumor on his brain. When you read the stories on here about people going numb and asking why?, it really is a sinking feeing. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. He was sent to Springfield for an MRI, Cat, and Pet scans.

pictured: Todd and his son Dominic

The spot on his head was pretty big and was believed to have metastasized from three spots that were found on his lungs. He was given steroids to help the swelling in brain to go down. He spent 6 days in Springfield and was getting lots of mixed signals so he transferred to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.

Once he arrived at Barnes he got his “game plan” and the doctor seemed very positive that the tumor on his brain could be removed surgically. He got to go home for the weekend to see his kids and everything was looking up.

That Sunday he was rushed to the emergency room with chest pains. He had blood clots in his lungs that caused him a lot of pain. Back to St. Louis he went and he was now given a new "gameplan" by the doctors. He was told it is non-small cell cancer. We were told the difference between non-small cell and small cell was how you treat them.

Nobody said anything about any stage, just a positive treatment plan. He was told that since he now had the blood clots and was on blood thinners he could not have the surgery. They were going to try a gamma knife radiation treatment on the tumor on his brain.

After another MRI they decided it was too big so they will do ten treatments on his whole brain to shrink the tumor and to get any cells they may not be seeing. After the ten treatments, if they got the results they were hoping for, then they would do the gamma knife treatment to get what was left.

As of today his radiation treatments are complete. He starts chemo treatment for the spots on his lungs this Friday (1/4/13). So, we get ready for the next phase, and we let the radiation do its job. We ask for continued prayers as the fight is just getting started.

I personally would like to thank everybody in the community for their support. We can change the world if we just believe we can and know that all things are possible though Christ! Thanks for your passion Pete! To Be Continued…………

-Jim

More than 50% of the proceed from all Fight the Fight purchases made between December 19th, 2012 and January 19th, 2012 will be donated to Todd to help pay for medical-related expenses.